A second online training session for 35 civil servants in the field of journalism was arranged by the Ministry of Information in cooperation with the Russian news agency Sputnik on July 19. The session was held under the theme “How to Verify Information on New Types of Media to Avoid Disinformation”.

Ministry secretary of state Sok Prasith, who presided over the opening session on behalf of minister Khieu Kanharith, said Cambodia-Russia cooperation has seen technology exchange, scholarships for Cambodian students and assistance in the reconstruction of Cambodia’s economy.

“I consider this training to be very important for media stakeholders and the government as Cambodia is fighting disinformation and cybercrimes,” he said.

Vasily Pushkov, head of international cooperation for Sputnik, said the news agency organised online training for ministry officials in this opening session.

Speakers focused on verifying news, characteristics of disinformation, analysing published articles, selecting information, and producing information for social media, he said.

Oleg Dmitriev, adviser to the general manager of Sputnik and a course trainer, said: “Some of the information is false and has hurt society and the public.”

Prasith thanked the Russian side for co-organising this training session which he said provided a lot of insightful information. He hopes the news agency will have more training sessions in the near future, especially face-to-face meetings.

According to the ministry, Sputnik has cooperated with its Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP) in the exchange of information.